San Luis Potosi

San Luis Potosí ( listen)officially called Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the thirty-one states that, together with Mexico City, make up Mexico. Its most populous capital and city is the homonym San Luis Potosí. It is located in the central region of the country, bordering to the north with Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, to the east with Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, to the south with Hidalgo, Querétaro and Guanajuato, and to the west with Zacatecas. It was founded on November 3, 1592.

It is divided into 58 municipalities. Apart from the state capital, other important municipalities are Matehuala, Tamasopo, Río Verde, Tamuín, Ciudad Valles, Tamazunchale, Cerro de San Pedro, Vanegas, Cerritos, San Vicente Tancuayalab, Charcas.

Toponymy

The state is named after King Louis IX of France, as well as the similar mining region of Potosí, located in Bolivia.

History

In pre-Hispanic times, the territory now occupied by the state of San Luis Potosí included the cultural areas of Mesoamerica and Aridoamerica. Its northern and central-western part was inhabited by the Otomi and Chichimeca tribes, which were many indigenous groups, mainly hunters and gatherers, which forced them to live without a fixed seat; in the east and southeast the Huastec, Xi, O'ui or Pame and Nahuatl groups still inhabit.

In 1592, gold and silver deposits were discovered, with this the development of the area began. The miners congregated to settle where the city of San Luis Potosí now sits, and Juan de Oñate was appointed the first mayor of "Pueblo de San Luis de Mezquitique". He was given the name " San Luis Rey" in honor of Louis IX of France, and "Potosí" because it was compared to the rich silver mines in present-day Bolivia, hoping to rival them, although this was never fulfilled. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Franciscans, Augustinians, and Jesuits settled and began to build churches and buildings, many of which are still standing today and have been converted into universities and museums.

The legal foundation of the town of San Luis Potosí was made on November 3, 1592, in accordance with the founding act drawn up by commission that Viceroy Luis de Velasco gave to Miguel Caldera and Juan de Oñate, mayor of the Potosi mines.

In 1786, as a result of the Bourbon reforms, the Royal Ordinance of Municipalities issued by King Carlos III was issued, with which the Viceroyalty of New Spain was divided administratively into 12 Municipalities; one of them being the Municipality of San Luis Potosí. The Municipality of San Luis Potosí was the largest in the viceroyalty. It included the provinces of Texas, Nuevo Santander and Coahuila, the Nuevo Reino de León and the districts of Charcas, Altamira, de Catorce and Ramos.

In the middle of 1821, after the Independence of Mexico, General José Antonio Echavarri intimidated the Mayor and the City Council to surrender the Plaza de San Luis to Iturbide's Army of the Three Guarantees. They submitted to his demand, since there was no way to resist, and thus the Independence of San Luis Potosí was proclaimed. Later, the first Political Constitution of the State of San Luis Potosí was dictated on October 16, 1826, and this was in force until 1835, when the National Congress decreed the Centralist system. Thus, the local Legislatures disappeared and the governors were appointed by the central government. This situation persisted until the Constitution of 1857 was promulgated.

The participation of the state of San Luis Potosi in the American invasion in the years 1846-1847 led to its being called "San Luis de la Patria" for having provided a large number of leaders and elements. In the Reform War, the participation of the Potosí State was very prominent, and during the French Intervention in 1863, the city of San Luis Potosí was declared the capital of the country by President Benito Juárez.

During the government of Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg, San Luis Potosí was converted into a department. The city was in the hands of the imperialists until the end of 1866. In that year the telegraph line between the city of San Luis Potosí and Mexico City was inaugurated.

Location

The state of San Luis Potosí is located in the central Mexican highlands.

The total area of the state is 60,546.79 km² and represents approximately three percent of the total area of the country.

The geographic limits, in geographic coordinates, are 24°29' (north), 21°10' (south) north latitude; 98°20' (east), 102°18' (west) of west longitude. Its boundaries are: to the northeast, with Nuevo León and Tamaulipas; to the east, with Veracruz; to the south, with Hidalgo, Querétaro and Guanajuato; and to the west, with Zacatecas.

Municipalities

The state of San Luis Potosí has 58 municipalities, which are distributed in 4 main regions: Huasteca Region, Media Region, Central Region and Potosino Altiplano.

Natural resources

Protected natural areas

The state has several protected elements included in the federal system of protected areas administered by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP):

• Gogorrón National Park (declared in 1936, with 25 000 haexcluded from SINAP;
• El Potosí National Park (declared in 1936, with 2 000 haexcluded from SINAP;
• Sierra del Abra Tanchipa Biosphere Reserve (declared in 1994 with 21 464 haSINAP 068).
• Area of Protection of Flora and Fauna Sierra de Álvarez (declared in 1981, 16 900 haexcluded from SINAP;
• Flora and Fauna Protection Area Sierra La Mojonera (declared in 1981) 9 201 haexcluded from SINAP;
• Area of Protection of Flora and Fauna Sierra de San Miguelito (declared in 2021, with 11 160.44 ha);

It also has a place declared a Ramsar site (n. ref 1766, declared in 2008), Arroyos y Manantiales de Tanchachín

In addition, it has another 12 protected natural areas under state jurisdiction administered by the SEGAM (Secretariat of Ecology and Environmental Management):

Mineral Resources

The state of San Luis Potosí is rich in minerals such as: copper, silver, zinc, antimony, mercury and tin, it is also known as one of the main world producers of Fluorite. Its industries include mineral processing plants such as antimony especially; yarns and fabrics, food preserves

Flora and fauna of San Luis Potosí
Dasypodidae	Felis concolor	Tamiasciurus	Vulpes	Coragyps atratus
Psittacidae	Crotalus durissus	Tayassuidae	Odocoileus virginianus	Lynx rufus
Acer saccharinum	Opuntia ficus-indica	Echinocactus grusonii	Cylindropuntia imbricata	Pinus ponderosaa

Territory

In pre-Hispanic times, the territory of what is now the State of San Luis Potosí was the cultural border of the Aridoamerica and Mesoamerica regions, allowing a great diversity of peoples and customs.

The Huasteca area was inhabited by Mesoamerican peoples, peoples who shared the same culture as the Mayans hundreds of years ago and who possibly separated from them in the Preclassic when the Zapotecs and Olmecs increased their presence towards the center and south of what is now Veracruz. The Huastecos left their traces of their presence in the numerous archaeological sites that are still found today in the states of Tamaulipas, Hidalgo, Veracruz, and San Luis Potosí. In La Huasteca Potosina, two sites are under investigation: Tamtok and El Consuelo, both located in the municipality of Tamuín. During the Epiclassic La Huasteca was invaded by Nahua cultures. Today La Huasteca has a Teenek and Nahuatl presence.

The middle zone of San Luis Potosí was an area populated, in pre-Hispanic times, by the Pame and Otomi cultures. These cultures –as in any border– shared the ways of life of both regions. That is, they shared both the agricultural-sedentary form and the nomadic-hunter. Currently living in the middle area are Pame cultures that call themselves Xi'oi.

In the Potosino Altiplano, in the territory known as the Gran Tunal, the Chichimeca culture (zacatecos, copuces, guamares, jonaces, huachichiles, etc.) developed. These Chichimeca settlers developed different cultural models from the Mesoamericans (who stand out for their sedentary life and their interest in building cities and large theocratic centers), extending this way of life throughout North America. The Chichimecas were skilled hunters and warriors. The Nahua peoples during the postclassic tried to dominate (as they had done for many Mesoamerican territories) the Chichimeca lands, without success. Hence the cultural hatred towards the Chichimec culture and the emergence of the first discourses that accuse the Chichimec as "wild", "uneducated", "pagan", & #34;inhumane", even "caribbean". The Spaniards at the time of the conquest will repeat the same discourse by maintaining an unsuccessful war for 50 years: the so-called "Chichimeca War".

The state of San Luis Potosí is rich in culture, heritage, and history. The Pame Tribe is divided into two regions: Pame Norte, which includes the municipalities of Alaquines, Cárdenas, Ciudad del Maíz, parts of Rioverde, Tamasopo, and El Naranjo; and Pame Sur, which includes the municipalities of Rayón, Lagunillas, Santa Catarina, and certain parts of Tamasopo. These indigenous tribes speak the Pame language, but certain words change between North Pame and South Pame.

Economy

San Luis Potosí has a beneficial location in the Mexican territory because it is an intermediate point between the three most important cities in the country: Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara and between 4 large high altitude ports: Tampico, Altamira, Manzanillo and Mazatlan. In addition, its varied climates, as well as its road and rail network, which satisfies its commercial exchange needs, allow it to be one of the few states in the country where an important business infrastructure can be developed.

The economic impact of the state is due to several factors such as tourism, industry and its geographical location that allows the rapid movement of products to almost any part of the Mexican Republic. However, this economic development is only seen in the state capital, which has led to a large migration to the urban area from rural areas as well as to other neighboring states such as Nuevo León and Tamaulipas and mainly to the United States.

However, it has experienced economic growth in recent months (especially in the capital city San Luis Potosí), due to local policies that have taken advantage of its geographical location. Today a large number of Industrial Parks have been developed that have boosted the manufacturing and industrial sector.

Especially in the automotive industry, after the arrival of a General Motors assembly plant, installed in 2012, construction of a BMW assembly plant began in 2015, which places San Luis Potosí within of the three states with the greatest automotive focus in Mexico.

Demographics

Population

According to data from the II Population and Housing Census carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) with a census date of June 12, 2012, the state of San Luis Potosí Until that year, it had a total of 2,585,518 inhabitants, of which 1,260,366 were men and 1,325,152 were women. The annual growth rate for the entity during the period 2005-2010 was 1.4%.

Main Cities (2010)

The following table shows the 20 most populated cities in the state of San Luis Potosí without counting Conurbation Area, Municipality or Metropolitan Area.

Education

Institutions of Higher Education

San Luis Potosí is a state that has a wide educational offer distributed in several of its regions.

One of the most important higher education institutions in the state is the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí, whose headquarters are in the capital city of the state, and also have campuses in the cities of Matehuala, Rioverde, Ciudad Valles and Tamazunchale.

Teacher training has been in charge of La Benemérita y Centenaria Normal School of the State of San Luis Potosí founded in 1849, this is the second teacher training institution in the country, since the century XIX, in addition to the UPN National Pedagogical University Unit 241 was established on October 16, 1979.

The Tangamanga University, part of the Aliat Universidades group, currently has 4 campuses throughout the state of San Luis Potosí: Tequis, Saucito, Huasteca and Industrias. It is currently positioned as one of the 11 most recognized private universities at the higher education level.^{[citation required]}

Another important institution is the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Campus San Luis Potosí, part of the Tecnológico de Monterrey System, which stands out for its research and innovation centers, focused on economic and social development of the region, from the Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus San Luis Potosí.

The National Technological Institute of Mexico has in the State, campuses of the Technological Institute of San Luis Potosí, the Higher Technological Institute of Tamazunchale (ITST), the Higher Technological Institute of Cd. Valles and the Technological Institute of Matehuala.

The educational offer is completed with the Open University, the Research Center for Educational Administration, the Cuauhtémoc University, the TecMilenio University, the Technological Institute of San Luis Potosí, the University of Central Mexico, the Marista University of San Luis Potosí, the Polytechnic University of San Luis Potosí, the University of the Valley of Mexico and the Technological University of San Luis Potosí, the latter, certified in ISO 9001:2000.

Recently, the Colegio de San Luis and the Potosi Institute for Scientific and Technological Research (IPICYT) were founded.

Gastronomy

The typical food in San Luis Potosí is composed by indigenous tradition mainly of corn, which when fused with Spanish food incorporates meats such as pork and chicken. Its variety is great and you can enjoy dishes such as the potosino cold meat or the famous red cheese tacos, served with roasted carrots and potatoes, sprinkled with fresh cheese. Desserts include tuna cheese and those made with goat's milk such as custard and cajetas or the traditional campechanas from Santa María del Río.

The dishes change depending on the geographical area: in the Huasteca, banana leaf tamales are traditional as well as zacahuil, in the Altiplano the wedding roast and the hole barbecue are characteristic, in the Central Zone the appetizers such as quesadillas, flautas and gorditas, while in the downtown area enchiladas from Potosi are the main dish.

Tourist attractions and places of interest

Procession of the Silence of San Luis Potosí with influence of Andalusia.

Cathedral located in the main square of the center of the capital of the state of San Luis Potosí in Mexico

Temple and exconvention of our Lady of Carmen

Museums

Geographic location

Northwest: Zacatecas	North: Zacatecas Nuevo León	Northeast: Tamaulipas
West: Zacatecas		This: Veracruz
Southwest: Zacatecas	South: Guanajuato Querétaro	Sureste: Hidalgo